Article by: Alya Shandra

The human rights situation in Russia has plummeted back into Soviet times. Over the past four months, the number of politica­­­­l prisoners in Russia has passed the 100 person mark and reached the number of 114, according to the Netherlands-based Foundation “Inostrannyi Agent” – Human Rights Initiative for the former USSR. This number is quite similar to the number during the last years of the Soviet Union.

“If the growth continues at this pace – and we have every reason to believe it will – we will soon see lists that are no smaller than those of the worst years of Soviet repression,” remarked Robert van Voren, chairman of “Inostrannyi Agent” at the presentation of a new List of Political Prisoners in Russia published by The Human Rights Initiative on October 30, the Day of the Political Prisoner. It contains the names of persons who have either been sentenced for political or religious reasons or are currently under criminal investigation for these reasons.

A previous list, published four months ago, consisted of 92 names of such prisoners, while in December 2013 the number was only 52. The List has been printed in a similar format as the List of Political Prisoners of the USSR that was published in the 1980s, symbolizing the return of Soviet-style repression in Russia. The main part of the current group of political prisoners consists of persons who were arrested for voicing their oppositional views. Among the current political prisoners are several foreigners, e.g. four Ukrainian activists from the annexed Crimea who were arrested on suspicion of “terrorism,” the Estonian counter-intelligence officer Eston Kohver who was kidnapped from Estonian territory, and the Ukrainian pilot Nadiya Savchenko, who was kidnapped in Eastern Ukraine and is currently held in the Serbski Institute in Moscow for compulsory psychiatric examination.

“On the whole, it is our belief that the situation is actually worse than during the years of Brezhnev, Andropov and Chernenko. The fundamental difference is that in those years hardly any Soviet citizen believed in the omnipresent Communist ideology, yet now large numbers of Russian citizens believe in Putin’s neo-fascist rhetoric. Those who disagree with the Kremlin policy are branded not only as “foreign agent”, but also as “people’s traitors” and “fifth column”. It is a language that we last saw during the 1930s and 1940s, the worst years of Stalin’s repression,” noted Mr.van Voren.

Also published today is the List of Repressive Legislation of the Russian Federation. The collection contains information on almost two-dozen laws that have been adopted to curb civil liberties in Russia and to provide the State with a wide range of possibilities to imprison people for their political or religious convictions or their civil activity. Together, these laws create a very disturbing picture, as the set of laws offer more possibilities than those in Brezhnev times and are much more similar to the Article 58 that was used during the time of Stalin and on basis of which virtually every citizen in the country was guilty by definition. “With the recent remarks of the Chief Investigator of Russia, General Bastrykin, that the presumption of innocence should be abandoned, we see a picture emerging of a full-scale return of Soviet justice,” stated Robert van Voren.

Creative fundraising for human rights initiatives: vodka for freedom

Though the situation is grim, the good news is that you can make it better. The publication of these lists has been made possible through the sale of “foreign agent vodka,” which was marketed this year and of which the profit goes to the Human Rights Initiative to finance its activities. What started as a joke has become a real means of financing human rights activity. Since the summer of this year, a premium vodka is on sale that is named after the notion of “inostrannyj agent”, foreign agent, a notion that is given to any non-governmental organization that is politically active and receives funding from abroad. It is clear, both from the text of the law and its implementation, that the main goal of the law is to kill civil society in Russia and make oppositional activity virtually impossible. A large portion of the sale of the vodka goes to the Human Rights Initiative for the former USSR, which actively fights the deteriorating human rights situation in Russia. The vodka is being sold in Lithuania only, but will be marketed to other countries in the nearest time. Check the Vodka for Freedom facebook page to keep track of the latest news.

The Human Rights Initiative for the former USSR, a continuation of the Vladimir Bukovsky Foundation that supported the human rights movement in the USSR in the 1970s and 1980s, resumed its activities in 2013 in light of the increased repression in Russia. The List of political prisoners and List of repressive laws are also available in Russian on the Human Rights Initiative’s website.

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Well what did we expect if not a return to the “good old days”. The Russian People again become serfs. I guess it was polished up to call them the “proletariat”.

Brent

It’s time Western countries stopped being surprised by Russia’s behavior and expecting them to conform to our thinking. BUT, it’s also time to stop ‘rewarding’ Russia for bad behavior and letting them keep these ‘frozen territories’ and getting away with murder nad supporting terrorists. They want to act like a pariah state that thinks it doesn’t have to live by the rules and principles of civilized societies that are free and democratic, then they should no longer be allowed to be part of organizations like the G20, WTO and any other “Western” organizations that bring benefits to their country. Western countries also have to start putting pressure on FIFA and FINA and the sponsors of the World Cup and World Championships that we will boycott their products if these events are not pulled from Russia who keeps thinking it is okay to kidnap citizens from other countries, shoot down civilian airliners and steal territory. Too much ‘ass-kissing’ and not enough ‘ass-kcking’ is going on thinking that we need Russia more than they need us. We don’t need them. They will regress into a closed off society like North Korea with famine, disease, technological deficiencies and a shrinking population. Their choice.

If your dog keeps crapping on your rug, do you give him more Milkbones and other treats or do you retrain him? It’s an insult to dogs, because Putin is supposed to be smarter than one. Time to show him the price and consequences of thinking the rules don’t apply to him.

About the Source

Alya Shandra is the managing editor at Euromaidan Press. She is a civic activist based in Kyiv and an expert in environmental and geography issues. Alya can be contacted at alya.shandra (a) gmail.com, on twitter @AlyaShandra., or FB

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